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What POS systems are good for in retail businesses has changed. This is even more true in specialty retail, local small business retail.

Judging a possible POS system for your shop based on what was considered important even a year ago could see you end up with a POS system that is not fit for the needs of retail today and into the future. It is hard, though, to know what matters now compared to last year.

Here are The 7 POS Features Every Specialty Retailer Needs in 2025.

Embedded AI. Yes, AI tools embedded in your POS system, replacing tasks you’d otherwise do manually, delivering insights that otherwise may take hours to collect, showing you pathways to profit you might otherwise have missed. While there are plenty of AI tools in the world, some of which are beneficial to specialty retailers, it is AI tools in your POS systems that are more likely to help day-to-day as they are there, part of the eco system your business inhabits.

Payments flexibility. As a retailer you want the ability to get the best price possible for managing payments. Make sure that your POS system provider supports you here, that they allow you to connect with the payments platform of your choice without financial penalty or cost from them.

Theft mitigation. Theft costs specialty retail somewhere between 3% and 5% of turnover each year.  Make sure any POS system you are considering has facilities for understanding theft by helping you to identify it. Once you identify the how of theft you can act to stop it.

Online integrations. Connectivity between your POS system and Xero, Shopify, Big Commerce, Magento, Woo Commerce MYOB, scales, rostering apps, delivery software, book databases, product inventory barcode databases and more are time savers, mistake reducers and more for retail businesses with access to these integrations.

Insights not reports. Reports are so last year for retailers. Who has the time to go searching for information. Look for a POS system that provides actionable insights without the need to run a report. Many POS systems have replaced reports with a dashboard of business performance insights.

Sell anywhere. The ability to sell away from the sales counter, away from the shop completely, at a market, on the road, where your customers are at is a key need in local retail today. Look for a POS system that offers this flexibility.

Easy learning. The better you understand how to use any tool the more you can get from that tool. Being able to learn more about the best way to use your POS system for profitable action is vital for your business achieving a return on the POS system investment.

Bonus: actionable steps to profit growth. Easy price comparison with local retailers, easy importing of supplier invoices, automatic writing of good product descriptions and automatic writing of traffic attracting blog posts abut products are all benefits of embedded AI tools in a POS system. Look for these and for the financial results on which you can bank.

These are all facilities you need to expect from a POS system today, in addition to what you expect about being able to sell how you have in the past. Not all POS systems have kept up with changes in tech in service in local small business specialty retail in 2025.

While the right POS system for any business depends on the specific needs of that retail business, Tower Systems continues to evolve to be current, relevant and valuable for Australian and New Zealand local small business specialty retailers. To see how we can help you…, request a free, no-obligation demo today.

Call 1300 662 957 in Australia or 0800 444 367 in New Zealand. Or, email sales@towersystems.com.au. 

Fears of complexity of switching from one POS system to another can be a reason why some retailers do not change their POS system.

There is the fear of loss of data, the cost of change (time to setup the new software, time to train all your staff, and more), the pause while those tracking business performance take time to learn new reports and processes and there is fears of complexity of getting to know new tech people.

Fear of change is natural. Here are some tips from years of experience on How to Switch POS Systems Without Losing Your Sanity (or Your Data).

Know the why. Know why you want to switch from your current POS system. If there why has a value associated with it, this is your North Star, the goal you want to reach from the switch. It could be the cost of the current software, its failure to genuinely serve the needs of the business or that the software does not have the assists you need to take your business to the next pevel. be sure of the why and remind yourself of this in the road to change is frustrating, which it will be.

Figure out what matters. It’s like moving house. What to you ditch before the move? What has value to the future you? In this case, what data matter to the viability of your business into the future. Sometimes, a POS system has been used to collect poor data of questionable value. If this is your situation, bringing bad data to your new home is likely a waste of time and money. Oh, and be aware that plenty of times starting afresh is the best and least costly move for the business.

Be sure what you can bring. Some POS systems don’e make it easy for you to extract your data for a new POS system. While that should have been a red flag when considering that software, the situation is the situation. It has to be dealt with, Find out what you can get access to, how and any cost associated with this. Doing this early in considering a new POS software will make moving house easier.

Make a plan. Working with the folks from your new POS systems company, develop a migration plan with clarity as to what is making the move and what is not. Create a list of tasks,. be sure of who is responsible for what. Be realistic. Don’t impose deadlines that cannot be reasonably met. read the responsibility. Make sure the plan has contingencies for setbacks. There will be setbacks.

Test the plan. If you are migrating data to the new POS system. Have all involved in that tech work do a trial to ensure data comes across as expected. Only you can decide if data comes across as you expect. be responsible for it.

Once the ducks are in a row, go!. When you are ready and everything and everyone is in place, press go. be engaged personally if it is your business. You have the most to gain or lose.

The success  of switching POS systems without losing your sanity comes down to planning along with consistent application of the plans.

While the right POS system for making a switch smooth and easy depends on the specific needs of your retail business, Tower Systems was built to solve these exact challenges for Australian and New Zealand local small business specialty retailers. To see how we can help you…, request a free, no-obligation demo today.

Call 1300 662 957 in Australia or 0800 444 367 in New Zealand. Or, email sales@towersystems.com.au. 

Cost of living crisis is in the headlines so much lately. It is being screamed by media outlets as if the headline itself is a traffic lure. These stories and economic challenges in the community make for complex settings retailers must deal with.

Retailers can either watch and talk about a situation or actively lean into it.

Here are 5 ways your POS systems can help your retail business thrive in a cost of living crisis.

Have appealing prices. While this may sound like a lazy answer, it is a good answer that any small business retailer can play into.  Think about price as a perception of value of something. Often in retail, that something is a product. If you bundle more products into a new single product the perception can change. Be thoughtful in your bundling. delivery what customers will want and will buy. Price the bundle at not far off the sum of each of the items. The physical bundle itself, carefully curated by you, is the value pitch. Use your software to manage the bundles.

Offer dollar rewards, not points. The value of points in loyalty programs is diminished because of how major corporations have plenyed with them, manipulated them over the years. Money, on the other hand , has an understood value. By rewarding loyalty with dollars off a future purchase will enhance customer perception of value from your shop. Use your software to offer dollars off for loyalty.

Be in stock rather than out of stock. Basket data show that the top 10% of items in local independent retail businesses are out of stock 20% and more of the time. Identifying potential out of stocks in advance and buying inventory so you are not out of stock is a guaranteed way to increase revenue and profit. Use your POS software to easily and consistently identify possible out of stocks based on you current sales trends.

Dead stock sinks businesses – declutter. Look at what’s not selling, what is costing you money just keeping it on the shelf, what is taking space you could use for more successful products. Get rid of this dead stock and replace it with products that will sell. Do this regularly, using parameters appropriate to your type of business. Make decisions based on the evidence and not emption. Your POS system can show you the inventory items that are dead.

Reduce your labour costs. While retail is a people business, too often retail businesses are paying people to do things that can be automated. Look at how you order inventory, how your price it, the time it takes to load inventory data into your systems and the time your people spend writing promotional information about new products. Much of the labour described here can be eliminated. Use your POS system’s AI tools to do this.

How your business copes in times of a cost of living crisis is up to you. Being a bystander watching what’s going on achieves little for the business and those dependant on it for income. Leaning in and embracing the opportunities for the benefit of the business helps everyone.

While the right POS system delivering these opportunities and benefits depends on your specific needs, Tower Systems was built to solve these exact challenges for Australian and New Zealand local small business specialty retailers. To see how we can help you…, request a free, no-obligation demo today.

Call 1300 662 957 in Australia or 0800 444 367 in New Zealand. Or, email sales@towersystems.com.au.